It can be a little annoying at times when your AirPods won’t connect to your Mac or any other Apple device. Most of the time, it is a common issue that can easily be fixed within a few minutes. Here we will see the reason and fixes for Why won’t my Airpods Connect to my Mac?
We have corroborated a couple of reasons why your AirPods might not connect to your Mac and their solutions. This article is for you if you’re looking for both the reasons and the solutions for them combined together. These solutions apply to all three devices, the MacBook Air, Pro, and the iMac.
Why won’t my Airpods Connect to my Mac? Reasons
There could be multiple reasons for the “why won’t my AirPods connect to your Mac” error. It might be due to fault Bluetooth or audio settings, unclean charging case, outdated macOS versions, etc.
Out of those, the most common reason is that your Mac isn’t updated to the latest OS.
Second-generation AirPods need macOS Mojave or later versions. Third-generation AirPods need macOS Big Sur, and AirPods Pro requires your Mac to be on the macOS Catalina or later versions.
Another yet overlooked reason might be that you just forgot to charge your AirPods, and the battery in the case has also died out. So, all you might need to do is plug your AirPods in their case and let them charge.
However, all these issues do have a solution that can be solved very easily by a few simple steps. So, we have listed all the methods we have tried that will help you out in solving the error.
Also, read, How to Connect AirPods to Mac and iPhone at the same time
How to Resolve my AirPods not connecting to my mac Issue?
We have listed eight different solutions for various reasons why your AirPods aren’t able to connect with your Mac or any other Apple device. Go through each of them, try them out, and see what works for you.
1. Update OS
As mentioned above, depending on the generations of your AirPods, you need to have to appropriate operating system installed onto your Mac. Some features on the AirPods, even basic ones like connecting, work only with specific versions of macOS.
For example, second-generation AirPods won’t work on macOS High Sierra as they need macOS Mojave or later versions. Similarly, AirPods Pro will work only on macOS Catalina and the two newer OS versions.
2. Bluetooth
This might sound a little silly but double-check to see if the Bluetooth is switched on or not. If not, simply hover over to the Control Center option on the Menu Bar to do this. Select Bluetooth and toggle it on.
Read How to Turn Off iCloud Photos on Mac
3. Audio source
Sometimes even after connecting the AirPods to your Mac, the sound might be coming out of the laptop instead of your AirPods. This can be fixed by switching the source to where the audio is sent.
On the Menu bar, click on the Control Center icon and select the Sound tab; you can switch the audio output to your AirPods, and they should be working fine now.
4. Multiple devices
If you’ve connected your AirPods to other devices apart from your Mac, your AirPods may be getting connected to them if they’re in the vicinity with their Bluetooth turned on.
Turn the Bluetooth off on all devices which might be nearby your AirPods that have already been paired with them in the past.
Read How to Sign Out of Mail on Mac
5. Reconnect
Try reconnecting the AirPods to your Mac, and be sure to keep the top open of the charging case when you press the button at the back of the case while connecting them.
6. Damaged Case
If you think the battery of your charging case might be damaged, the AirPods can still function if you connect the case to a power source or connect it directly to your Mac via a USB cable. Hence, try checking the case if it still working properly. If nothing works out, you can simply take it to the Apple care center to know more.
7. Login ID
If you use the same iCloud username and password you used on your iPhone to connect the AirPods, they will automatically be set up and ready to use on your Mac. If you’ve used different IDs in both places, you need to connect your AirPods manually for them to work with your Mac.
Use the following steps to connect your AirPods manually.
- Log in to your Mac and open System Preferences by clicking the Apple logo on the Menu Bar.
- Find the Bluetooth icon, press it and then turn it on.
- Now you need to open the top of the charging case, and if the AirPods aren’t already in them, be sure to place them back before doing this step.
- Find the button behind the case and thumb it down till the light switches to white.
- Your AirPods should now be displayed under the Devices section of the Bluetooth window. Select them and allow them to pair.
8. Hard reset
If all else fails, you can perform a hard reset of your AirPods which basically means unpairing and reconnecting your AirPods. Use these steps below to do that.
- Log in to your Mac, and click on the Apple logo on the top left-hand corner of the Menu bar.
- Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
- Find the Bluetooth option and click on it to open a new window.
- Under the Devices section, find your AirPods and click the cross icon next to them. This will unpair your AirPods from your Mac.
- Now follow the steps mentioned in the previous step to reconnect them.
You may also like:
- How to Take a Screenshot on Mac
- How to Sync Contact from iPhone to Mac
- Save a Word Document on Mac
- How Do I Delete Bookmarks On My Mac
Conclusion
We hope this article helped resolve your “Why won’t my Airpods Connect to my Mac” issue. Be sure to follow every step if the previous ones don’t work and find out which one works in your case.
Suppose none of these solutions help you out. In that case, there might be some physical or hardware problem with your AirPods, and you should consider visiting the nearest Apple store to resolve the issue professionally. Also, you can try contacting them through live support or raise a ticket through the official website. It will fix the below issues
- why my airpods not connecting to my mac
- why won’t my airpods connect with my MacBook
- my airpods not connecting to my mac
- why won’t my airpods connect to my macbook pro
- my airpods not connecting to laptop
- why won’t my airpods connect to my macbook air
Robert is a tech expert (with more than 10 years of experience in using mac os and iPhone) who loves to help others learn about the Mac operating system and iPhone. He provides helpful tutorials on how to use Mac OS, tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Mac operating system, iPhone tips and tricks, and more. He’s always up for a challenge and enjoys learning new things about his favorite OS. When he’s not helping people get the most out of their technology, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two cats. Check out more.